North America's first Indian culture centre in Toronto

Toronto: Canada will soon have its version of the Nehru Centre in London as India opens a cultural centre here next year.

Sangeeta Bahadur, deputy director at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), who was here for the just concluded Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, said, "We are planning an Indian cultural centre in Toronto. It will rival, if not outshine, the Nehru Centre in London.''

She said it will be the first such cultural centre in North America.

Bahadur said, "The new cultural centre will be ready by next year to cater to the North America Indian diaspora, just like the Nehru Centre in London.''

The Indian government is looking for a site in Toronto for the proposed centre, she said. "I will see during my trip if we can find some suitable place.''

The ICCR official said, "The idea behind the cultural centre is to showcase our rich heritage to the Indian diaspora and Canadians. It will serve as a place for regular performances of Indian dance and music and other art forms.''

She said culture is now an important tool of India's foreign policy. "We are using our cultural heritage to build bridges with the diaspora which is our biggest asset and our biggest outreach to the world, and we want to use it to project India. It will focus on second and third generation Indo-Canadians eager to reconnect with India.''

As Canada-India relations take off after a slew of agreements signed during the past year, the ICCR official said cultural diplomacy will provide only much-needed fillip to the bilateral ties.

According to her, "Culture is India's greatest 'soft' power and it has created a huge influence here and elsewhere.''

Bahadur said though the Indian government also considered Washington for setting up the cultural centre, Toronto was preferred for reasons of land availability and the huge Indian population here.

The Indian government will seek views of the local Indian diaspora on the proposed Toronto cultural centre, she said.

The two-day fifth mini PBD ended here at the weekend.

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)





 

                                           Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

Are you scared? Team Hazare asks PM; Congress hits back

A day after Baba Ramdev ended his nine-day fast against corruption, Team Hazare Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh why he was "scared" of the proposed   »

Threat to democracy is from unelected tyrants, says Congress

  Most Read

Tony Blair reads Quran every day, says it is a reforming book

Former British prime minister Tony Blair has become "increasingly open" about the importance of religion, and reads the Quran every day to be "faith-literate". Blair, who reportedly   »

UP girl's murder confirmed; 11 cops, three doctors suspended

The Uttar Pradesh police Monday confirmed that the 14-year-old girl found hanging inside a police station compound was strangled to death. One constable has been arrested while 11 policemen and three    »

'Death in a police station shocking; cops should be arrested'

  News Pick

A toilet @ rupees 300

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in an important decision taken June 02, 2011 approved an extra Rs.1,348 crore to construct toilets under the   »

Gandhi's glasses missing from Ashram; staff asked to keep mum

Mahatma Gandhi's spectacles have been missing from the Sevagram Ashram in Wardha since November, officials revealed Monday. Ashram president M.M. Gadkari said its employees were   »

Migrants to US learn English by describing own lives

A project in America's North Carolina state seeks to get immigrant students learn English in an innovative way. Young people are asked to take photos, make videos and write stories in the »

Pilot, Congress, BJP spokespersons at Yale leadership programme

Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot and spokespersons of the Congress and the BJP are among 13 MPs from seven parties attending a nine-day leadershi  »

Tamil Nadu's poll freebies hang on legal thread

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's promised poll freebies, including mixers, grinders, fans and laptops, are to roll out from September, but her plan could hit a roadblock with the apex court set to decide on a plea  »

Picture of the Day

A shattered photograph of the artist in a vandalised exhibition in New Delhi in August, 2008. The artist and his paintings have been a target of a Hindutva hate campaign. Some groups alleged that his work hurt religious sensitivities.

(Photo: V.V. Krishnan/ The Hindu)